Topic: Schoeps Nextel Grey Question

[Dutchman1101]

Silly question I know but has the Nextel Grey color Schoeps uses changed at all? I just got a pair of mk4's that are darker then my bodies/mk41's and figured I'd ask.

Sorry in advance for all the Schoeps n00b questions

Harrison

[DSatz]

Dutchman, "Nextel" is a specific type of finish which is a certain color and a little "furry." Before Schoeps began using Nextel, they offered a dark surface finish which was smoother, but still relatively non-reflective. I don't remember exactly when the changeover occurred; I'd guess the mid-1980s, but I might be way off. In any event my older Colette-series microphones and capsules have the older finish, while the newer ones are Nextel (if they're not nickel).

I've never been aware of any difference in coloring among Nextel finishes, but they can become darker as a result of handling. There also is a definite difference in hue between the old smooth paint and the Nextel. But this is silly--why am I talking about color when I can be showing it to you? One moment, please ...

OK. The attached photo shows two microphones with bodies in the old-style gray finish (which to my eyes has something of a green-olive cast) and MK 8 capsules in Nextel. If you look closely you'll also see that the ID rings are Nextel, since I had these mikes converted from CMC 3s to CMC 5s at the factory a few years ago.

This photo was taken with flash at a distance of less than two feet, and you can easily see that the Nextel is far better at absorbing and scattering the reflected light than the old finish was.

--best regards

[Dutchman1101]

David,

This is what I'm talking about. As you can see the mk4 is quite darker then the mk41. It's not a big deal at all but I was just curious

They are both "furry". The mk41 more so then the mk4 but the do both have that "grit" to them.

[Brian Skalinder]

This is what I'm talking about. As you can see the mk4 is quite darker then the mk41. It's not a big deal at all but I was just curious

My old MK41s looked like your MK4s (darker), while my other caps all looked like your MK41 (lighter).  I'm a little curious, too.

[KLowe]

David,
About how much does it cost Schoeps to transform bodies.  I'd like to have cmc4s converted in to cmc6's if possible.

have a ballpark estimate??

Thanks,

Kevin

[Dutchman1101]

This is what I'm talking about. As you can see the mk4 is quite darker then the mk41. It's not a big deal at all but I was just curious

My old MK41s looked like your MK4s (darker), while my other caps all looked like your MK41 (lighter).  I'm a little curious, too.

That is interesting becuase my mk41's arent exactly new. I was told when I bought them they were purchased in 1987.

[Shawn]

David,
About how much does it cost Schoeps to transform bodies.  I'd like to have cmc4s converted in to cmc6's if possible.

have a ballpark estimate??

Thanks,

Kevin

I'm also curious about that. Although I'd be fine with converting cmc4 to either cmc5 or cmc6.

[DSatz]

KLowe and Shawn, the only conversion that's practical is from CMC 3 to CMC 5 or vice versa, since those two models (from a certain point onward, which I think occurred before 1980) are built on the same circuit board with only one small difference between the the two circuits. Also, the factory can change the low-frequency rolloff point of a CMC amplifier on request (the default for CMC 3/4/5 is 30 Hz, 6 dB/octave; for the CMC 6 it is 20 Hz, 12 dB/octave), and/or they can change the sensitivity setting of the microphone from standard to +5 dB or vice versa. These are all non-traumatic adjustments which were foreseen in the design of the amplifiers.

The CMC 4 and CMC 6, on the other hand, each have their own distinct circuit boards with several significant differences in circuitry between the two of them, as well as between them and the other two types. So a conversion between either of those two types (4 or 6) and each other, or between either of them and either of the other two (3 or 5), is just not a reasonable proposition, unless you call it reasonable to discard around 85% of the parts.

I think that you'd get better value, and that it would feel better and help other people more, to sell what you have and buy what you need instead.

--best regards

[Shawn]

that's interesting. especially since I've been told they sound exactly the same and it's really just a difference in how they are powered. I also know for a fact that all the parts needed to make a cmc4 phantom powerable easily fit into an XLR barrel. Really I don't NEED either a cmc5 or cmc6. it's just less stuff to have to carry. right now I have to carry a power adapter (p48 to 12t), and I wouldn't miss it one bit.

[DSatz]

Shawn, your information is completely correct--the CMC 3/4/5 sound identical to each other, and the CMC 6 might differ only because of its slightly different response rolloff at the very lowest audio frequencies (plus the latest version has nearly bulletproof immunity to RFI), or if it is a CMC 6xt.

However, the CMC 6 has a two-mode DC converter (it senses the incoming phantom powering voltage, and sets itself into either 48-Volt mode or 12-Volt mode accordingly), which makes that part of its circuit a little more complex, even though the audio path is not. And the CMC 4, being parallel powered, has a somewhat different output circuit configuration from the phantom-powered models. No one anticipated a great need to convert back and forth between parallel and phantom power, so Schoeps never devised a unitary board layout that would accomodate all these different models.

For that matter the CMC 6 replaces both the CMC 3 and 5; because of its flexibility of powering and improved immunity to RFI it is certainly what I would buy today if I were starting out fresh--and there is almost no demand for the CMC 4 any more, because for the past 35+ years even Nagra recorders (which for years were the main excuse for the existence of parallel powering) have offered phantom powering. The CMC 3/4/5 aren't being withdrawn in the near future, to the best of my knowledge, but honestly I couldn't tell you why they aren't. The next version of the catalog will list them more or less as alternative models, with the CMC 6 being featured primarily.

--best regards

[Shawn]

wild stuff. thanks for the info.